U.S. Mormons Volunteer Vastly More Than Others

Mormons are by far more generous with their time and money than the average American, though they often devote it to their own communities, a U.S. study showed Thursday.

The study showed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) -- some six million people across the United States, but heavily concentrated in the western state of Utah -- use 36 hours each month to volunteer, compared to an average of four hours a month for non-church members.

The faithful are strongly influenced by a basic tenet of their belief that "they are called by God to serve others," according to the study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University-Purdue.

Of the 2,664 practicing Mormons surveyed, just over 86 percent said they volunteer for the benefit of their own community.

Benefiting the donations was notably a religious obligation to pay "tithe," some 10 percent of a person's income to the church -- an "obligation taken seriously" by church members, according to the study, with over 88 percent of respondents saying they paid that donation in full.

Mormons also give on average, on top of the tithe donation to the church, some $1,800 each year to charitable causes undertaken by the church.

The study comes at a time of renewed interest in religion, and with a Mormon, Mitt Romney, running to become the Republican Party's presidential candidate in the November 6 election against Democrat Barack Obama.

"The vast majority of the volunteering is for the maintenance of the church itself," wrote David Campbell, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame at a briefing on the study's findings on Thursday.

"It is good for the individuals who are engaged," he said, but also stressed the action can "can benefit the wider community, even if the connection is done indirectly."